The PowerHA cluster is an Extended Distance cluster with two sites. It manages, in principle, the replicated storage infrastructure through HyperSwap functionality.

The storage is provided by two DS8800s configured to replicate each other using Metro Mirror Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (PPRC) synchronous replication. DS8800 supports in-band (SCSI commands) communication, which is used to manage (and automate) the replication using IBM AIX® HyperSwap framework and PowerHA automation and management capabilities.